Chapter 10: Empress Zhu’s True Love! The White Moonlight Beautiful Youth

“Help this palace inside.”

Leaning weakly against the imperial carriage, she stretched out an arm, looking utterly frail and exhausted.

The little palace maid felt heartache for her, and indeed could no longer care about anything else. She quickly rose and supported her arm, helping her into the grand hall.

Sitting against the ornate couch, Zhu Wuhuan said to the maid, “This palace is thirsty…”

The palace maid hurriedly replied, “Your Highness, please wait a moment. This servant will go prepare tea right away!”

As the palace maid ran off to brew tea, Zhu Wuhuan glanced around the empty hall, then popped the small pill into her mouth.

At once, she experienced the true power behind the phrase “system products must be premium.”

In just the blink of an eye, she had watched the entire twenty-three years of Empress Zhu’s life unfold like a movie.

From her birth cries as a baby, to growing up cherished and doted on by the entire Zhu family, she was truly the treasure of them all.

Her one great mistake in life came at fifteen, when she ventured beyond the city and encountered danger. At that moment, a handsome, noble young man descended like a savior and rescued her. From then on, she was hopelessly in love with him…

Naive and pure-hearted, she was gradually enticed by him step by step. For the sake of his grand ambitions, she entered the palace in tears, acting as an inside agent, waiting for the day when he would raise troops in rebellion, so that the two of them, lovers fated together, could finally be united.

Unfortunately… her deep affection was tragically misplaced!

When she finished seeing all of Empress Zhu’s memories, Zhu Wuhuan opened her eyes.

She frowned.

【So, Empress Zhu had another love? She only entered the palace as empress for the sake of her lover?】

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

【That young man… could it be the Prince of Jin?】

【I recall that according to the histories, the tyrant Feng Changye died suddenly three years later. Because he left no heir, it was his younger brother, the Prince of Jin, who inherited the throne…】

【And the word “died suddenly” carries much subtlety.】

【Generally, if an emperor died of sudden illness, it would be called “sudden death.” But sometimes, if an emperor perished from political strife or was killed by someone close, the historians, unable to record the truth, would also write it as “sudden death.”】

【So did Feng Changye die of illness three years later, or at the hands of the Prince of Jin? No one truly knows.】

【But now, seeing the relationship between Empress Zhu and the Prince of Jin, I suddenly feel that the possibility of Feng Changye dying at the Prince of Jin’s hand is much higher.】

【The histories record that Feng Changye wrongly executed the entire Zhu family, subjected his wife to the cruel torture of being crippled and soaked in wine, and caused the loyal old general to die in grief and anger. This spread his reputation as a tyrant throughout the realm, the people’s resentment boiling, and the ministers of court losing faith in him.】

【Suppose we imagine, if the Prince of Jin wanted Feng Changye to lose the people’s support and be infamous as a tyrant, could it be that these events were all orchestrated by him? Then, the very spark that lit the fire—the tragedy of the Zhu family’s destruction—was it perhaps also his doing?】

【Just now, in dealing with Feng Changye, I felt he wasn’t that muddle-headed or brainless. For him to demand the execution of the entire Zhu family immediately upon hearing of General Zhu’s supposed treason—could it be someone whispered in his ear? Or fabricated evidence proving the Zhu family guilty?】

【And moreover, Empress Zhu was still his wife. Just because she cursed him as a tyrant at the execution grounds, he had her hands and feet cut off, soaking her in wine to die in torment… Why does that seem suspicious to me?】

【Unless he hated her utterly, how could he be so cruel to someone already about to be executed?】

【Could his hatred for Empress Zhu also have been fueled by something the Prince of Jin did in secret?】

Zhu Wuhuan shared all her suspicions with the system.

The system listened silently.

When she finished, it simulated the sound of clapping, applauding her.

【Host, your deductions are wonderful and very reasonable. Once we have the time, let’s pay a visit to that Prince of Jin, and we’ll see exactly what kind of man he is.】

Zhu Wuhuan narrowed her eyes slightly and smiled.

【No need for us to seek him out.】

The corners of her lips lifted in confidence.

【From all the dozens of palace dramas I’ve watched—if the Prince of Jin truly had a hand in the Zhu family’s downfall, then once I return to the General’s Mansion, he will surely come visit me, hoping Feng Changye misunderstands something…】

【And just in time—since the decree pardoning the Zhu family hasn’t spread yet, that Prince of Jin likely doesn’t know. When we return home, I won’t wear the phoenix robe. Instead, I’ll put on plain clothes, disguising myself as if I’ve been deposed and sent back to the Zhu family to await execution three days later.】

【Let’s follow history’s path for now and see whether the Prince of Jin will come to the General’s Mansion to find me, and what he’ll do behind the scenes.】

【If the Zhu family’s destruction truly was his doing, then we will destroy him!】

The system listened, feeling a little dazed.

It asked:

【Host, the tyrant was the one who decreed the execution of the Zhu family. Yet when I urged you to eliminate him before, you weren’t willing… But now that the blame shifts to the Prince of Jin, why are you so eager to get rid of him?】

Zhu Wuhuan sighed and said:

【Let me give you an example. The great general Yue Fei died unjustly. Why is it that throughout the ages, people have hated Qin Hui far more than they hated Emperor Gaozong of Song?】

【Because Gaozong was at most muddle-headed and incompetent, but Qin Hui was the true culprit who schemed to kill a hero.】

【If the Zhu family’s destruction really was orchestrated by the Prince of Jin, then he’s even more hateful than Qin Hui!】

【Qin Hui killed Yue Fei, but at least Qin Hui never became emperor in the end. The Prince of Jin, however, climbed to the throne step by step, treading upon the corpses of loyal heroes!】

【This man, for the sake of his imperial dream, could coldly cause Old General Zhu—a man who fought half his life for the Feng family’s dynasty, winning great military merit—to bury his son, his bloodline cut off forever. Just thinking of it makes me feel that this kind of man truly deserves to die! Deserves it utterly!】

Her words made the system suddenly enlightened.

It understood now—its host had transferred her admiration for Yue Fei onto Old General Zhu, and her hatred for Qin Hui onto the Prince of Jin. That’s why she was so desperate to cut him down with her own hands.

…

While Zhu Wuhuan and the system spoke within the grand hall, Feng Changye stood outside the palace walls.

When the woman had first left, he hadn’t thought much of it. But barely half an incense stick later, he grew restless, irritable, finding fault with everything he saw.

He kept feeling that in the places where he couldn’t hear her, that woman must be secretly complaining about the Great Ning court’s affairs. If he didn’t stay by her side, he would miss something very important!

So, ignoring the puzzled looks of the servants, abandoning the stack of memorials waiting on his desk, he hurried urgently to Changle Palace—like a lovesick man chasing after his wife.

And indeed, when he arrived at Changle Palace, he was rewarded with a surprise!

He actually heard talk of how he would “die suddenly” three years later, and how the Prince of Jin would ascend the throne!